Berry-box.



fw' i ,-6

P. E. SNYDBR.

BERRY BOX.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 16, 1911. 1,041,690. Patented 001;. 15, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2, W @Q4-Z 5%' MMWUIIVW i f 'A WQMZM @1 f' PERRY E. SNYDER, OF HICKSVILLE, OHIO.

BERRY-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, i912.

Application filed November 16, 1911. Serial No. 660,669.

To all whom 'it may concer/n.'

Be it known that l, PERRY E. SNYDER, citizen of the United States, residing at Hicksville, in the county of Defiance and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Berry-Boxes; and l do hereby declare the following to be a. full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

rlhis invention has for its object to provide an improved berry box, the object being to provide a device of this character adapted to be made from paper board or other suitable material, and which may beeasily and quickly assembled, and which, when assembled, is strong and durable. r1`he invention consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

ln the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention: Figure -1 is a per spective view of a berry box constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. J2- is a top plan view of the same. Fig. -3- is a detail perspective view of the bottom wall of the box. Fig. 4;- is a vertical transverse section of a box on the line l-Ll of Fig. 2-. Fig. -5- is a fragmentary detail horizontal section of the same on the line 5-5 of Fig. -4-. Fig. (5- is a view in side elevation of the blank constituting the peripheral wall of the box. Fig. 7* is a fragmentary detail perspective view showing the meeting portions of the blank shown in Fig. -6#.

r1`he invention has for its particular object to provide a berry box adapted to be assembled without the use of nails, staples or other similar fastening devices, and which, when assembled, is made incapable of coming apart without primarily removing the bottom therefrom and which, furthermore, will not yield to strains imparted upon the peripheral wall by raising the box filled with fruit by one corner or one peripheral wall thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a berry box which is capable of being very quickly and easily assembled by unskilled persons and with the minimum number of operations.

The peripheral wall of the box consists of a single strip l of paper board or other suitable material scored at four points indicated to divide the. same into live sections 2, 3, 4l, 5 and 6, the first four of said sections constituting the four walls of the box. rEhe section 6 is shorter than the walls or sections 2, 3, 4 and 5, and forms a flange at the end of the section 5 which is adapted to overlap the section 2. The said flange 6 is provided with a pair of vertical slots 7 and 8, the lower free edge portion or corner of said liange being cut away, as at 9. In the section 2 of the strip in horizontal alinement with the slots 7 and 8 there .is provided a tongue 10 adapted to enter the latter, the same being formed by cutting a U-shaped incision in said end portion, the parallel arms of which are horizontally disposed and the free end of which is disposed in the direction of said flange 6, said tongue 10 being adapted to be forced to project from the inner face of the portion of the blank in which it is formed. Midway between the free end of the section 2 and the scoring between the same and the section 3 and midway between the ends of the sections 3, 1 and 5 similar U-shaped incisions 12 are out, the parallel arms of which are vertically disposed to form upwardly projecting tongues 13. Each of said tongues 13 may be forced to project from the inner face of each of the walls or sections 2, 3, l and 5 of the box.

The strip 1 after being cut and scored as before described is folded in the same direction at each of the scorings and the tongue 10 then forced inwardly and .the free end thereof inserted into the slot 7 and then in the opposite direction through the slot 8. When said tongue 10 is so engaged in the Said slots 7 and S a polygonal sleeve is formed having the four equal walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 and which is incapable of being opened by strains acting in any direction except to force the wall 5 with its flange 6 inwardly relatively to the wall 2. By adjusting the relative positions of the four walls of the sleeve thus formed the latter is rendered square.

The structure is completed by the insertion in said sleeve of the square bottom 14, the latter being similarly made of a single piece of paper board or other suitable material corresponding substantially in diameter with the length of each of the four walls of the sleeve or peripheral portion of the box. Said bottom 111 is provided on each edge with a flange 15 adapted to be bent to extend upwardly therefrom. In said bottom contiguous to each of said flanges and bordered by the latter are slots 16 disposed midway between the ends of each of the edges of said bottom 14, said slots 16 being slightly longer than the width of the tongues 13 adapted to be received therein. The flanges 15 are formed by scoring the bottom in the usual and well-known manner.

The sleeve having been first formed as described and the flanges 15 of the bottom turned up, the latter is inserted into the sleeve from the upper end thereof and lowered to a point contiguous to the upper ends of the tongues 13. The latter are then forced inwardly so as to lie in the path of the respective slots 16 and thereupon said bottom is forced down so as to cause said tongues 13 to enter the said slots 16, the bottom being thus supported upon said tongues 13 by means of its flanges 15. After the bottom has been so inserted the said tongues 13 are forced down to extend substantially horizont-ally inwardly from the peripheral walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the now completed box.

As shown in Fig. -4- the depth of the flanges 15 is equal to the length of the tongues 13 so that when the box has been assembled as described the said flanges 15 will oppose and close the openings formed in the walls of the box by bending inwardly the flanges 13. It .will further be noted that the cut away portion 9 of the flange 6 of the strip permits the-tongue 13 of the wall 2 of the box to be bent inwardly without coming in contact With said flange 6.

After the bottom has been inserted in the sleeve primarily formed it will be obvious that inward movement of the wall of the box carrying the flange 6 sufficiently far to permit the tongue 13 to become disengaged from the slots 't' and 8 or either of them is entirely prevented and, furthermore, that the bottom 14: of the box is supported on four sides so that sagging of the same and consequent disengagement from the tongues 13 by weight imposed on said bottom is prevented. v

It is customary in handling berry boxes to hold the same between the thumb and middle linger engaging the upper yand lower edges respectively, of one wall or one corner of the box. Vhen thus supported a strain is imparted to the box which will tend to impart relative vertical movement to the flange 6 and the contiguous wall of the box engaged therewith. It will be noted that the engagement of the tongue 13 in the slots 7 and 8 prevents relative vertical movement of the flange 6 and the contiguous wall 2 of the box engaged therewith by means of its tongue 10 vertically in either direction so that the removal of the flange 6 from engagement with the said contiguous wall 2 by vertical strains or stresses imparted in handling the box is obviated. Attention is further directed to the fact that as the respective tongues 13 are disposed midway between the edges of the four walls of the box and the slots 16 in the bottom are similarly disposed that the said bottom 14 may be inserted without necessitating turning the same so as to engage any particular tonguek 13 in a particular slot 16 but that said bottom may be easily inserted withoutprimarily turning the same to any particular' position relative to one or two walls of the box. v

The device is very simple and efficient and affords all the advantages of strength, cheapness, ease of assembling and rigidity and durability when assembled which is required of receptacles of this character.

I claim as my invention:

In a berry box the combination with peripheral walls each provided between its upper and lower edges and between its side edges with an inwardly projecting tongue, of a bottom fitting telescopically within said peripheral walls and flanges on the edges of said bottom rest-ing upon said tongues, there being slots in said bottom contiguous to and each bordered by one of said flanges, said tongues passing through said slots.

vIn testimony whereof I have signed my name in presence of two subscribingl witnesses.

PERRY 4E. SNYDER.

Witnesses:

E. F. ARMSTRONG, RALPH MOORE.

K Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

